Darfur 'Kidnapping'

Stories

9 Stories

April 2008
- Chad Pardons, Frees French 'Orphan' Kidnappers
  
  BBC | Apr 1, 08 11:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The six men imprisoned for kidnapping 103 Chadian children have been pardoned and freed from a French prison, reports the BBC. Convicted in Chad and sentenced to hard labor, the members of charity group Zoe's Ark had been transferred to a facility in France, and received a pardon from Chadian president Idriss Deby yesterday. More »
December 2007
- Chad 'Kidnappers' in France
  
  Reuters | Dec 28, 07 4:55 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Six charity workers convicted of kidnapping children in Chad arrived today in their native France, where they are expected to serve out 8-year sentences, Reuters reports. The six, employees of humanitarian group Zoe’s Ark, will meet with a prosecutor to decide their prison placement. By serving their sentences in France, they swapped a Chadian court’s sentence of hard labor for jail time. More »
- Chad To Return Convicted Kidnappers To France
  
  CNN | Dec 28, 07 5:56 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The six French charity workers convicted in Chad of attempting to kidnap 103 children they claimed were Darfuri orphans will return to France. It's unclear whether the French justice system will reduce their 8-year sentences. The Zoe's Ark charity workers, scheduled to return on a special flight, claimed they were acting out of compassion and intended to place the children in French homes. More »
- Chad Sentences Aid Workers to 8 Years
  
  Reuters | Dec 26, 07 2:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Six French charity workers were convicted today of attempting to kidnap 103 children and send them from Chad to Europe, but a diplomatic agreement is expected to repatriate them before they begin their sentences of 8 years at hard labor, Reuters reports. The workers had testified that they believed the children were orphans from the Darfur region of Sudan, which borders Chad. More »
- Alleged French Kidnappers Go on Trial in Chad
  
  BBC | Dec 21, 07 7:21 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Six French citizens accused of the attempted kidnapping of 103 children have gone on trial in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena, in a courtroom surrounded by riot police and packed with journalists. The members of the Zoe's Ark charity, who claim that the children were orphans from Darfur whom they were taking to foster families in France, have gone on hunger strike. If found guilty, they face 20 years of hard labor, reports the BBC. More »
November 2007
- Chad Village Pines for Children
  
  BBC | Nov 9, 07
  
  In Chad, the parents of children almost flown to France by the charity Zoe's Ark have told BBC News they were promised they would be educated locally, and never gave permission for them to leave the country.
- 7 Freed in Chad Kidnap Case
  
  Associated Press | Nov 4, 07 8:23 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Three French journalists and four Spanish flight attendants have been released in a bizarre alleged kidnapping case in Chad shortly after French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived to mediate. Still detained are members of French charity organization Zoe's Ark that attempted to airlift to France 103 African children they claimed were orphans. "It's over; they're free," said an attorney for the seven released. More »
October 2007
- Protest Over Chad Child Scandal
  
  BBC | Oct 31, 07
  
  People in the Chadian town of Abeche have been protesting about last week's alleged child-kidnapping attempt. Sixteen Europeans were arrested in the town while trying to fly more than 100 children they believed were orphans from Sudan's Darfur region to France.
- 6 Charged in Darfur 'Kidnapping'
  
  Associated Press | Oct 30, 07 8:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Six French nationals who attempted to fly children from Chad to France for adoption have been charged with kidnapping. The Chad government also detained 11 other alleged accomplices, including the flight crew, reports the AP. Charity group L'Arche de Zoe had arranged French host families for 103 children they called orphans of the Darfur conflict. More »